Service Supply Corp., of Ephrata, PA, attracted hundreds of visitors to its open house/auction held recently at its offices, located north of Lancaster, off Route 222 on Newport Road.
The open house featured a small equipment auction, demonstrations, vendor displays, and a barbecue chicken dinner from Ivan the Amish Chicken Man.
“We do it every year. The open house is a great way to introduce new equipment. It gives our customers a chance to meet some of our vendors. The auction allows us the opportunity to sell some merchandise and the demonstrations give customers a chance to see what is new and innovative,” said Chris Stroup, manager.
Howard Weachter, Service Supply’s sales representative for Lancaster County, said one of the big draws this year was the demonstrations of various laser-guided systems.
Laser Alignment-Leica Geosystems sponsored demonstrations of the LB-10 Laser Beacon, the LB-4 Laser Beacon and the Depthmaster 200, and Level Best conducted a demonstration of its laser-guided grading system.
Laser Alignment’s sensor can read from a string line or a curb line. For the sake of the demonstration, Laser Alignment’s sonic system was attached to a 120H Cat motorgrader.
“You set up the instrument in the cab. You set the control and it automatically cuts the grade. It’s extremely accurate. It means fewer passes and less time. Basically, all you have to do is drive the machine. If you can steer, you are doing well,” said Weachter.
Rick Potes, of Leica Geosystems, said the sonic master can work with any motorgrader. It controls the elevation and the slope to ensure a near-perfect grade.
Leica also had a laser system hooked up to Deere 700H dozer.
“With laser guidance, there is total control of the blade — for depth and elevation,” said Potes.
The laser system is in two parts. The sensor is attached to the dozer and the other part of the guidance system — the beacon — is secured to the ground similar to a surveyor’s tool. The sensor detects the signal from the beacon and takes direction from it.
Laser Alignment’s LB-4 is a multipurpose laser, providing for accurate grading, excavator depth control and smooth blade control.
It enables automatic hydraulic control. It gives precise control up to 40 times a second so you can stay on grade without over correcting.
It gives grade checks directly to the operators at a glance from the easy to read LCD display and single or dual laser receivers give every operator the chance to hold accurate grades on all leveling and fine grading applications.
It features a cordless on-board rechargeable battery pack that allows for more than 20 hours of continuous operations.
The Depthmaster 200 was attached to a Deere 710G excavator and helped guide the operator to digging a near-perfect trench.
“It guarantees there is a consistent level trench for hundreds of feet without getting out of the cab to check. Think of the time it saves,” said Weachter
The LevelBest grading system was hooked up to a New Holland 161A. The grader drag box carefully leveled the topsoil, automatically raising and lowering to accommodate the shifting terrain.
The Level Best Grading System can reduce random cracking of concrete slabs. As the operator grades, the laser light from a rotating beacon is detected by the system’s receiver and transmitted to the Level Best hydraulic controls. The grader box automatically lowers or raises to cut or fill as required. The finish grade elevation, consistently level to .25 in. (.64 cm), improves the quality of the finished surface by removing areas where random cracking can occur, thereby increasing the slab’s strength.
“It saves a lot of money. They are really accurate,” said Bob Stickler, Service Supply. “The project is graded to level, as close as possible. You save a lot of money because you end up using just the right amount of stone.”
Although many people came to look and buy, everyone came to eat. Ivan the Amish Chicken Man cooked up hundreds of quarter chickens, broiling them over a hot grill. The tangy aroma of barbecued chicken wafted through the whole yard.
Rod Musser, Musser Excavating, Lititz, PA, said he was enjoying the day and the lunch from Service Supply.
“The food is great. So is their service. Whenever we need something, Service Supply is right there. We call them and they bring it right out for us,” said Musser.
